Information disclosure and depositor discipline in the Chinese banking sector

We investigate the relationship between information disclosure and depositor behaviour in the Chinese banking sector. Specifically, we enquire whether enhanced information disclosure enables investors to more effectively infer a banking institution's risk profile, thereby influencing their deposit decisions. Utilising an unbalanced panel, incorporating financial data from 169 Chinese banks over the 1998–2009 period, we employ generalised-method-of-moments (GMM) estimation procedures to control for potential endogeneity, unobserved heterogeneity, and persistence in the dependent variable. We uncover evidence that: (i) the growth rate of deposits is sensitive to bank fundamentals after controlling for macroeconomic factors, diversity in ownership structure, and government intervention; (ii) a bank publicly disclosing more transparent information in its financial reports, is more likely to experience growth in its deposit base; and (iii) banks characterised by high information transparency, well-capitalised and adopted international accounting standards, are more able to attract funds by offering higher interest rates.

Self-affine crossover length in a layered silicate deposit

Self-affine dehydrated colloidal deposits on fresh mica surfaces of the synthetic layered silicate 2:1 smectite clay laponite have been studied by means of atomic force microscopy (AFM). AFM images of these prepared assemblies of sol and gel aggregates have been analyzed both by means of standard AFM Fourier software and a wavelet method. The deposited surfaces show a persistence to antipersistent crossover with a clay concentration dependent crossover length. It is concluded that the crossover length is associated with aggregate size, and further that the persistent roughness at small length scales signals near compact clusters of fractal dimension three, whereas the antipersistent roughness at large length scales signals a sedimentation process.

Finite element analysis of an embankment on a soft estuarine deposit using an elastic–viscoplastic soil model

A new elastic–viscoplastic (EVP) soil model has been used to simulate the measured deformation response of a soft estuarine soil loaded by a stage-constructed embankment. The simulation incorporates prefabricated vertical drains installed in the foundation soils and reinforcement installed at the base of the embankment. The numerical simulations closely matched the temporal changes in surface settlement beneath the centerline and shoulder of the embankment. More importantly, the elastic–viscoplastic model simulated the pattern and magnitudes of the lateral deformations beneath the toe of the embankment — a notoriously difficult aspect of modelling the deformation response of soft soils. Simulation of the excess pore-water pressure proved more difficult because of the heterogeneous nature of the estuarine deposit. Excess pore-water pressures were, however, mapped reasonably well at three of the six monitoring locations. The simulations were achieved using a small set of material constants that can easily be obtained from standard laboratory tests. This study validates the use of the EVP model for problems involving soft soil deposits beneath loading from a geotechnical structure.

Feeding and digestive strategies in deposit-feeding holothurians

Deposit-feeding holothurians employ a range of feeding and digestive strategies depending on the Particular environment to which they are adapted. Habitat and feeding specialisation is reflected in the tentacles, which show high diversity.

Tentacular diversity in deep-sea deposit-feeding holothurians: implications for biodiversity in the deep sea

The tentacles of deep-sea holothurians show a wide range of morphological diversity. The present paper examines gross tentacle morphology in surface deposit feeding holothurians from a range of bathymetric depths. Species studied included the elasipods: Oneirophanta mutabilis, Psychropotes longicauda and Benthogone rosea and the aspidochirotids: Paroriza prouhoi, Pseudostichopus sp., Bathyplotes natans and Paroriza pallens. The sympatric abyssal species Oneirophanta mutabilis, Psychropotes longicauda and Pseudostichopus sp. show subtle differences in diet and the structure and filling patterns of the gut that suggest differences in feeding strategies which may represent one mechanism to overcome competition for food resources in an environment where nutrient resources are considered to be, at least periodically, limiting. Interspecific differences in tentacle functional morphology and digestive strategies, which reflects taxonomic diversity could be explained in terms of Sanders'; Stability–Time Hypothesis. Since different tentacle types will turn over sediments to different extents, their impact on sedimentary communities will be enormous so that high diversity in meiofaunal communities may be explained most simply by Dayton and Hessler's Biological Disturbance Hypothesis.